1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to data processing and more particularly to simplifying the process of building database queries by limiting the number of fields presented to a user for building the database queries.
2. Description of the Related Art
Databases are computerized information storage and retrieval systems. A relational database management system is a computer database management system (DBMS) that uses relational techniques for storing and retrieving data. The most prevalent type of database is the relational database, a tabular database in which data is defined so that it can be reorganized and accessed in a number of different ways. A distributed database is one that can be dispersed or replicated among different points in a network. An object-oriented programming database is one that is congruent with the data defined in object classes and subclasses.
Regardless of the particular architecture, in a DBMS, a requesting entity (e.g., an application or the operating system) demands access to a specified database by issuing a database access request. Such requests may include, for instance, simple catalog lookup requests or transactions and combinations of transactions that operate to read, change and add specified records in the database. These requests are made using high-level query languages such as the Structured Query Language (SQL). Illustratively, SQL is used to make interactive queries for getting information from and updating a database such as International Business Machines' (IBM) DB2, Microsoft's SQL Server, and database products from Oracle, Sybase, and Computer Associates. The term “query” denominates a set of commands for retrieving data from a stored database. Queries take the form of a command language that lets programmers and programs select, insert, update, find out the location of data, and so forth.
Queries are constructed of query conditions that serve to filter results returned from the query. Accordingly, a query may be thought of as group of filters put together to sift out only the data in which they are interested. Query conditions are typically constructed by specifying conditional operations on one or more fields in the targeted database. To facilitate query building, some applications may provide the user with a graphical user interface (GUI) presenting the user with a list of fields for use in specifying query conditions.
However, as the relative size and complexity of a data model increases, the number of fields presented to the user in the GUI may become unwieldy. In other words, the data model may easily grow beyond the ability for users to understand and use it. Typically, at least some of the fields presented in the GUI may be rarely (or never) used in building a query. By presenting these rarely used fields to the user, usability of the application targeting the data model suffers, as the GUI becomes too complex for the user to be able to see and understand how they might build a query to return desired data.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method for simplifying the query building process by limiting the number of fields presented to the user for building queries.